At the start of his junior career, Jamie Rivers won a gold medal in the provincial under-17 World Hockey Challenge held in Sudbury in 1992. The championship marked the beginning of a very successful amateur run with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHA. Rivers attributes at least some of his good fortune to his older brother, Shawn, who, having played four games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was able to offer his kid brother some guidance.

By the time the younger Rivers was ripe for the NHL Draft in 1993, the smooth-skating blueliner was rated to go in the first round. The wait, however, proved a little longer. The St. Louis Blues took him in the second round.

During his first two campaigns in the Blues' organization, Rivers spent most of his time improving his skills with the Worcester Ice Cats of the AHL. In 1997-98, however, he got his first full-time run at the NHL level. As a rookie, Rivers didn't try anything fancy. He focused on a conservative defensive game as the foundation of his value to the team.

In 1999, he was traded to the New York Islanders where he continued to play a stay-at-home game for one season. He then opened the 2000-01 campaign with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL where he played only a couple of games before joining the Ottawa Senators for the bulk of the season. After parts of two seasons with the Senators organization, Rivers was acquired by the Boston Bruins in the early stages of the 2001-02 season.

Upon the completion of the 2001-02 season, Rivers became a member of the Florida Panthers. In his only season with the team, the Ottawa, Ontario native spent the majority of the year with its AHL affiliate in San Antonio before being acquired by the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2003.

After parts of three seasons with the Red Wing organization, Rivers was acquired by the Phoenix Coyotes at the 2006 NHL trading deadline. Rivers would end his season with the Coyotes and compete in 18 games with the club. He then signed as a free agent with his former club, the St. Louis Blues, in the summer of 2006. Rivers split his time in St. Louis between the Blues and their AHL affiliate in Peoria. The Ottawa, Ontario native spent only a single season in St. Louis, and signed with the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2007.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1989-90

Ottawa South Canadians

ODMHA

50

26

46

72

46

1990-91

Ottawa Jr. Senators

ON-Jr.A

55

4

30

34

74

1991-92

Sudbury Wolves

OHL

55

3

13

16

20

8

0

0

0

0

1992-93

Sudbury Wolves

OHL

62

12

43

55

20

14

7

19

26

4

1993-94

Sudbury Wolves

OHL

65

32

89

121

58

10

1

9

10

14

1994-95

Sudbury Wolves

OHL

46

9

56

65

30

18

7

26

33

22

1994-95

Canada

WJC-A

7

3

3

6

2

1995-96

St. Louis Blues

NHL

3

0

0

0

2

-1

1995-96

Worcester IceCats

AHL

75

7

45

52

130

4

0

1

1

4

1996-97

St. Louis Blues

NHL

15

2

5

7

6

-4

1996-97

Worcester IceCats

AHL

63

8

35

43

83

5

1

2

3

14

1997-98

St. Louis Blues

NHL

59

2

4

6

36

+5

1998-99

St. Louis Blues

NHL

76

2

5

7

47

-3

9

1

1

2

2

1999-00

New York Islanders

NHL

75

1

16

17

84

-4

2000-01

Ottawa Senators

NHL

45

2

4

6

44

+6

1

0

0

0

4

2000-01

Grand Rapids Griffins

IHL

2

0

0

0

2

+3

2001-02

Ottawa Senators

NHL

2

0

0

0

4

-3

2001-02

Boston Bruins

NHL

64

4

2

6

45

+6

3

0

0

0

0

2002-03

Florida Panthers

NHL

1

0

0

0

2

-2

2002-03

San Antonio Rampage

AHL

50

6

19

25

68

+3

3

0

1

1

10

2003-04

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

50

3

4

7

41

+9

2

0

0

0

2

2003-04

Grand Rapids Griffins

AHL

2

0

0

0

4

-1

2004-05

Hershey Bears

AHL

50

7

13

20

46

-13

2005-06

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

15

0

1

1

12

0

2005-06

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

18

0

5

5

26

+2

2006-07

St. Louis Blues

NHL

31

1

3

4

36

-7

2006-07

Peoria Rivermen

AHL

30

4

19

23

24

0

2007-08

Spartak Moscow

Russia

19

0

3

3

42

4

0

0

0

8

2008-09

Chicago Wolves

AHL

69

4

24

28

72

+1

2009-10

HC Ambri-Piotta

Swiss

24

0

8

8

34

6

1

4

5

2

NHL Totals

454

17

49

66

385

15

1

1

2

8

Brother of Shawn OHL First All-Star Team (1994) Canadian Major Junior Second All-Star Team (1994) OHL Second All-Star Team (1995) AHL Second All-Star Team (1997)

Claimed by NY Islanders from St. Louis in Waiver Draft, September 27, 1999. Signed as a free agent by Ottawa, November 30, 2000. Claimed on waivers by Boston from Ottawa, October 13, 2001. Signed as a free agent by San Antonio (AHL), November 2, 2002. Signed as a free agent by Florida, December 16, 2002. Signed as a free agent by Detroit, July 29, 2003. Signed as a free agent by Hershey (AHL), November 3, 2004. Traded to Phoenix by Detroit for Phoenix's 7th round choice (Nick Oslund) in 2006 Entry Draft, March 9, 2006. Missed majority of 2005-06 as a healthy reserve. Signed as a free agent by St. Louis, August 18, 2006. Signed as a free agent by Montreal, July 5, 2007. Signed as a free agent by Spartak Moscow (Russia), October 12, 2007. Signed as a free agent by Ambri-Piotta (Swiss), December 16, 2009.